“Creamy” Spaghetti Squash with Chicken Sausage & Spinach (Dairy Free/Gluten Free)

**This dish is a favorite of mine! It tastes so decadent and is totally dairy and gluten free. As an Italian, I still sometimes miss my creamy and rich pasta dinners, but this dish comes pretty darn close in flavor!! The longer you cook the spaghetti squash, the creamier the texture is. The flavor itself of the spaghetti squash is totally amazing! Try it also with ground chicken, ground turkey, or broccoli rabe. 

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 Whole Spaghetti Squash
• 1 pound Italian Chicken Sausage (Sweet and Hot)
• 3-4 cups Spinach
• Olive Oil
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Crushed Red Pepper
• Parsley
• Garlic (freeze-dried or fresh)
• Himalayan Pink Salt
• Pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the spaghetti squash in half and scrape out all of the seeds. If you have trouble cutting the spaghetti squash in half, puncture some holes in it and microwave for about 5 minutes. This will help to soften it a bit to make it easier to cut. Place the halves face up on a cookie sheet and put olive oil all over the top. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic, garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper, parsley. I just eyeballed the amounts, so I would say literally a sprinkle or two of each spice.

2. Place the spaghetti squash face down on the cookie sheet and sprinkle a little olive oil over it. Put it in the oven for about 45-50 minutes. The cooking time will depend on the size of your squash. Take a look at the photo below to sort of match the visual of the finished product! The point of this recipe is to cook it slightly longer than you typically do.

3. Prepare your chicken sausage by slicing a slit down the middle of each sausage. Remove all of the meat and discard the pork casing. I like to use Italian sausage (1/2 hot, 1/2 sweet) because it is already perfectly seasoned and adds tons of flavor to the dish.

4. Place the sausage in a pan to cook. I used my dutch oven and cooked the meat with a little olive oil.

5. Saute the spinach with a little olive oil. Use more if you like… it will cook down significantly, so don’t be afraid to use a little extra.

6. Let the spaghetti squash cool for about 15-20 minutes.

7. Using a fork, scrape all of the squash from both pieces. The shell of the spaghetti squash should be pretty bare after removing all of the “spaghetti-like” filling from both halves.

8. Add the spaghetti squash to the mix of sausage and spinach. Let it all heat up for about 10 minutes on medium-low heat. You can add a little more olive oil and spices for additional flavoring if you wish. Serve and enjoy!